With more than one score to settle against its former stalwart Amarinder Singh, the Congress is going all out to wrest the Patiala Lok Sabha seat, which has been a long-standing citadel of the ex-chief minister and head of the erstwhile Patiala royal family.
Amarinder’s wife Preneet Kaur, the sitting Congress MP from Patiala, is contesting the seat on the BJP ticket this time.
Seen as synonymous with the Congress in Punjab, Amarinder quit the party in September 2021 after he was removed as CM. Later, he merged the outfit he had founded with the BJP, though Preneet officially continued with the Congress.
The Congress has fielded Dr Dharamvira Gandhi, who had defeated Preneet in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections from Patiala on the ticket of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), as its candidate. Dr Gandhi, who quit the AAP ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, is a much-respected cardiologist of the area, known to offer free services to the poor.
Both Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra campaigned for Dr Gandhi in Patiala, the only constituency in Punjab where both the siblings pitched in. Campaigning for Dr Gandhi on Wednesday, Rahul said: “Dharamvira ji has a mohabbat ki dukaan in Patiala, where he runs an OPD for the poor… I have been trying to convey a message of love… for 10 years. But Dharamvira ji has been doing it for 50 years.”
Apart from Rahul and Priyanka, AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge, Himachal Pradesh CM Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu and Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, who is himself fighting a tough contest in Ludhiana, came down to Patiala to campaign.
Congress sources admitted that Dr Gandhi faced resistance initially from local leaders of the party. However, the “handholding” by senior leaders sent the message down the ranks and everybody lined up behind the candidate, said a Congress leader.
According to a source, local leaders were cautioned that they might not be considered for tickets in the 2027 Assembly elections if they did not ensure enough votes for Dr Gandhi in their segments falling under Patiala. “It was a clear message,” a senior Congress leader said.
Harish Chaudhary, the Congress observer for the Punjab Lok Sabha elections, said: “The Congress does not need to get the party back from Amarinder’s hands. It is already out of his hands. Dr Gandhi is the best candidate Patiala can ever have. The results will reflect this.”
In 2014, when the AAP registered its first Lok Sabha victories – all in Punjab – Dr Gandhi defeated Preneet, then a Congress candidate, by a margin of over 21,000 votes in Patiala. In 2019, Preneet won the seat back by 1.63 lakh votes, against the Shiromani Akali Dal’s (SAD’s) Surjit Singh Rakhra. Dr Gandhi, who contested as a candidate of his Nawan Punjab Party, was third.
This time, apart from Preneet and Dr Gandhi, the Patiala race includes the AAP’s Dr Balbir Singh, who was Dr Gandhi’s election agent in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, and the SAD’s N K Sharma.
The biggest hurdle Preneet is facing has been clear at her nukkad meetings, which feature a worker standing next to her holding a prominent cutout of the lotus, the BJP’s poll symbol – to drive home the message that she has changed parties.
It underlines the Amarinder family’s association with the Congress in the minds of voters still, with the veteran having joined the party during the time of his schoolmate and then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. In 2002, he led the Congress to victory in the state and became the CM for the first time, and repeated the feat in 2017.
On Thursday, Amarinder, who notably stayed away from the Lok Sabha election campaign of the BJP, including rallies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, issued a letter to Punjab voters, asking them to back the BJP to ensure “a developed and thriving Punjab”. Preneet had earlier said that Amarinder, who was not present at her nomination-filing or any of her public meetings, including one held by Modi, could not attend due to ill-health.
In the appeal, written on a letterhead carrying the crest of the erstwhile Patiala Estate, Amarinder asked the people, especially in Patiala, to come out in large numbers and support Preneet by pressing the “Kamal Nishan (Lotus Symbol)”. He added: “As you all are aware, I have been unwell for the past few weeks. I am writing this letter to you with an appeal and a heart full of hope (about) our shared vision for a prosperous and developed Punjab. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji, the BJP is dedicatedly and faithfully serving the nation.”
The June 1 elections were “not ordinary” elections, the former CM said. “They are a decisive moment for securing our children’s future.” He also expressed confidence in the BJP’s victory in Patiala and across Punjab.
A worker displayed Lotus symbol prominently at Preneet's meetings to underline that she was now a BJP candidate. (Express photo) 
Share
